Monday 18th June 2007

Winter Lights

As winter starts to reveal its frosty teeth, it’s the perfect time to have a bit of a knees-up. Lyttelton and New Brighton are two suburbs gearing up for winter celebrations – the New Brighton Pier celebrates 10 years on Thursday and the Lyttelton Harbour Festival of Lights kicks off with a street party on Friday. This week we feature both suburbs – and we meet two librarians who work in those communities. Thursday also marks the winter solstice, a time when ancient cultures held massive celebrations.

Lyttelton lights up for festival

Wendy Everingham describes herself as the “conductor” who orchestrates the Lyttelton Harbour Festival of Lights. She’s been in Lyttelton four years and is one of the driving forces lighting up the harbour during winter’s darkest nights. She tells us some of the activities that are planned during this eco-friendly festival.

Library at the centre of community

Kate Twomey is the associate community librarian at Lyttelton Library and has been working in the community 21 years. She tells us about Lyttelton’s special character and gives us insight into Lyttelton’s Nautical Collection, donated by a retired sea captain. You can also read a history of the Lyttelton library.

Pier marks 10th anniversary

New Brighton Pier celebrates its tenth anniversary on Thursday. The 300-metre long structure will be lit up to mark the occasion. In what will become a permanent display, coloured LEDs have been affixed to the pier to light it up at night. We investigate the history of the pier and also meet Kate Ogden, the associate community librarian at New Brighton Library, the pier’s anchor tenant.

Regional Smokefreerockquest winners Frankly Mauve spoke to pulse this week, hot off the heels of their gig with Streetwise Scarlet.

Get a bird's eye view of New Brighton beach via the pier webcam.

Resources

Search the library catalogue for books on New Brighton's or Lyttelton history.
Useful localeye listings for New Brighton and Lyttelton
Search CINCH for New Brighton and Lyttelton sports and recreation groups
Our Internet Gateway has an excellent listing of websites with historical New Zealand photographs

Next week

For Beca Heritage Week we profile heritage resources in our collection, and we'll take a closer look at The Royal New Zealand Navy's new frigate HMNZS Canterbury, which arrives in its home port of Lyttelton on Thursday, 28 June.